Chapter Titles: A Wizard Abroad

Scale of Universe Measured with 1-Percent Accuracy

An ultraprecise new galaxy map is shedding light on the properties of dark energy, the mysterious force thought to be responsible for the universe’s accelerating expansion.

Image: An artist’s concept of the latest, highly accurate measurement of the universe from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The spheres show the current size of the “baryon acoustic oscillations” (BAOs) from the early universe, which have helped to set the distribution of galaxies that we see in the universe today. BAOs can be used as a “standard ruler” (white line) to measure the distances to all the galaxies in the universe. Credit: Zosia Rostomian, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A team of researchers working with the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) has determined the distances to galaxies more than 6 billion light-years away to within 1 percent accuracy — an unprecedented measurement.

"There are not many things in our daily lives that we know to 1-percent accuracy," David Schlegel, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the principal investigator of BOSS, said in a statement. "I now know the size of the universe better than I know the size of my house."

The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.

Neil deGrasse Tyson (via cynicsdream)

NGC 4725, NGC 4747, and NGC 4712

The Tinker Bell Triplet.

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed ‘The Bird’ - although it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy.

Image Credit- ESO.

I'm in Northern Michigan!

Map of cousins based on the directory. Some other cousins were added who have mentioned their whereabouts in conversation and i happened to remember but who are not listed. That said, consider this your invitation to update your directory listing if you so desire. There are several of you who are not in it who maybe want to be? (No pressure, of course!)

Orange dots are for people whose specific location was unclear, but i put them in the correct state/province (except that one in the middle of Canada, because all it said was ‘Canada’). Blue dots are close to the cities that were listed.

Some people have two dots, like me because i listed Cleveland and Boston, or like Erin because i know she’s moving soon.

Other locations listed were China, Japan, Asia, and i know there is at least one person in Germany.

fave reads of 2017: Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane

“And we will cause it to be well-made, this Sacrifice. You, young and never loving; I, old and never loved. Such a Song the Sea will never have seen.”

read if you like: middle grade fiction, male-female friendships, a blend of science fiction and fantasy, magic that has real and lasting consequences, and crying over large sea animals

“I wonder how much trouble you get in for busting a worldgate.” // “How can I save her?”

A mix for Kit Rodriguez: Loyalty, Bravery, Empathy incarnate. He will cross time, space, and neighborhoods for those he loves and those he must protect.

 Titanium by David Guetta // Sugar, We’re Going Down by Fall Out Boy // The Cave by Mumford and Sons // Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon // Boys Are Back in Town by The Hitters // and ten others

Listen  (15 tracks, 55 mins)

Epic map reveals Mars’s geography in unrivalled detail